Heritage guide: Doussard and the southern tip of Lake Annecy

La Maison Forte de Blain (15th century)

Listed as a Historic Monument, La Maison Forte de Blain is a rare example of 15th-century civil architecture. Recognisable by its mullioned windows (stone crosses) and its defensive grilles, it is no ordinary farmhouse but the residence of local notables. Built on a strategic site, it watched over the old royal road linking Annecy to Faverges and on to Italy. The Blain family, wealthy local notables, likely levied dues on goods passing through to the port.

Le Pont de Verthier (1770)

The "Vieux Pont" of Verthier was built in dressed stone around 1770 to replace earlier wooden bridges that were repeatedly swept away by floods of the Eau Morte. Look at the keystone at the top of the arch: it locks the whole structure together by simple compression, with no reinforced cement. In the Middle Ages, crossing this bridge was costly: the lord of Beauvivier collected a toll on salt, grain and travellers. Right next to it, channels ("biefs") fed the wheels of the village's mills and sawmills.

Gaspard Stockalper, the "King of the Simplon"

The character who guides the first Tresorus quest in Doussard is inspired by Gaspard Stockalper (1609-1691), nicknamed the "King of the Simplon" or the "Salt King". This Swiss businessman was the wealthiest man in his country, controlling trans-Alpine trade, mines and the postal service. Having become Baron de Duingt (the castle on the lake's peninsula), he was forced into exile in 1678 during a political revolt against his monopoly. The story of his flight through Doussard to reach his Savoyard lands is a plausible historical hypothesis.

White Gold: salt in Alpine history

Before the invention of the refrigerator, salt was the only way to preserve meat and fish for months. This vital commodity was worth a fortune — it was called "white gold". The word "salary" actually comes from the Latin salarium, the bonus Roman soldiers received to buy their salt. In the Alps, the salt trade travelled through mountain passes and lakes, making the fortune of the merchants and lords who controlled the routes.

The Gabelle and the faux-sauniers

The Gabelle was the royal salt tax, one of the most hated of the Ancien Régime. Its price could vary tenfold from one province to another, fuelling a thriving black market. Salt smugglers were known as "faux-sauniers" (from "saunier", the salt-maker). They risked the galleys, even the death penalty. In Doussard, the marshes and rivers offered discreet routes to slip past the Gabelle's guards — an ideal playground for smugglers.

Bastien "Le Renard", smuggler of the marshes

The character who guides the second Tresorus quest in Doussard is Bastien, nicknamed "Le Renard" (The Fox). In 1695, this young smuggler knows every nook of the marshes. His challenge: get a cargo of salt across while outwitting ambushes laid by the Baron's soldiers. Through this adventure, players discover the port of Doussard, the reedbeds, the suspension bridge over the Ire and the beach, all while learning the history of the salt trade in the Alps.

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